The Milwaukee Gun Buyback Program has done little to stop violent crimes in the city, so some in the community are suggesting alternatives that may result in a safer city without having to pay people to go and steal guns. The program has paid up to $150 for handguns and sawed-off shotguns, and while a few hundred guns have been taken off the streets, critics maintain that the system is flawed. The main reason why gun buyback programs do not work, they maintain, is because there are simply too many guns in the United States. In fact, nearly eight million guns are sold yearly (legally), and people in the US own 200 - 250 million guns.

The Milwaukee Association of Unarmed Liberals has said that it will fund a new program to protect Milwaukeeans from gun violence by raising money to purchase bullet-proof garments for citizens, rather than trying to buy the guns.